Rooting exploit could turn Google Glass into secret surveillance tool
A hacker has already found a major security flaw in Google Glass.
Using an exploit discovered seven months ago to root smartphones running Google’s Android operating system, it takes him less than five minutes to hack the new device. From there, he can install a customized operating system that silently monitors everything the device sees or hears.
Later on in the article it says:
Glass, by contrast, has no form of screenlock, making it possible for someone with even brief access to a headset to make persistent changes.
I think Google Glass is good for Google because Google is in the business of user data collection and advertising. I do not believe this project / product is good for users.
More Android Malware
Turns out that the story about Android Malware in the Google Play Store that I linked to the other day has gotten worse. More Apps were identified this past weekend and have yet to be removed.
Android Malware in Google Play Store
Android malware in the Google Play Store has been downloaded 9 million times.
I am still no where close to recommending an Android powered device to family members due to issues like this.
Samsung Makes Buggy Software
This has been an issues for Samsung and HTC. These hardware manufacturers are starting to get into the software game, when it is not their expertise.
> Independent Italian researcher Roberto Paleari discussed several bugs he recently found in Samsung Android phones in a post on his blog yesterday. Paleari claims that after taking some time to sit down with some of his devices, he found six exploitable bugs on older devices such as the Galaxy Tab and the newer Galaxy S3.
> All of the vulnerabilities can be exploited without privilege and according to Paleari, stem from “Samsung-specific software and customizations.”
Samsung is going to continue to pull away from Google and continue frankenstein the Android OS with Samsung software. The Samsung Galaxy S4 event was a great example of all the unique Samsung “S” software that is being layered on top of the stock Android OS.
Samsung can boast about using 256-AES encryption in their commercials all they want. That doesn’t matter if there are security holes in your software. The smartphone market is starting to look like this:
- Apple iPhone Family
- Samsung Galaxy Family
- other
This does not bode well for consumers who want a safe Android based smartphone.
A great chart by F-Secure that really drives the point home.
